Missouri Rotary Marks Decade of Raising Shoes

In partnership with the other 54 Rotary Clubs in Missouri Rotary District 6040, a total of 16,350 pairs of shoes, 1,372 pairs of socks and over $11,000 were collected for international orphans in the Dominican Republic. This humanitarian aid was collected during the 14-stop Shoes Caravan, starting in Kansas City on April 28 and ending in Kirksville on April 30.

Missouri Rotary remains the largest single contributing organization to the Shoes for Orphan Souls campaign to date, collecting a total of 207,000 pairs of shoes and $78,000 in cash since the first shoe drive in 2001.

United Parcel Service partnered with Rotary District 6040 to provide transportation for the collection, from the final caravan stop in Kirksville, Missouri to the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid in Dallas, Texas.

“UPS encourages its employees to volunteer and give back to the community in which we live,” said Elizabeth George, UPS district human resources manager. “Since we are a global company, I felt this was a project we could use to not only help our community, but also the children of many nations.”

Rachel Garton, director of Buckner Shoes for Orphan Souls, said that Buckner is “extremely grateful” for the shoe donation this year, as well as for all of the donations they have received from Rotary District 6040 in the past.

“Rotary’s consistency over 10 years has allowed us to send more shoes to children around the world, and ultimately, opened the door for us to share love and care with more children who otherwise wouldn’t receive it,” she said.

“No other organization has had the willpower and vision to involve so many people to make a difference as Rotary has.”

Since 1999, Shoes for Orphan Souls has delivered more than 2.0 million pairs of shoes and socks to orphan children in 69 countries. Shoes for Orphan Souls is a ministry of Buckner International, a Dallas-based global ministry dedicated to the restoration and healing of orphans and at-risk children, families and senior adults.

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service and help build goodwill and peace throughout the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians who are members of more than 33,000 Rotary clubs in nearly 170 countries.